City administration is recommending council hold a public hearing on July 10 to gather residents’ views regarding the new master plan for a residential development on Range Road.

Council is scheduled to vote on the recommendation at its regular meeting next Monday.

The master plan for Range Point was developed by the Yukon government and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation. They are the owners of the two parcels of land on which the development will occur.

The 18.45-hectare site is located on the west side of Range Road, just north of the Northland Mobile Park, senior city planner Mathieu Marios told council at its meeting Monday.

The land is mostly treed, with a gravel turn-around area used by Whitehorse Transit buses.

He said the site is projected to result in approximately 390 new housing units, including single-detached, duplex, triplex, cottage cluster, and medium- and high-density multiple unit dwellings.

It’s anticipated that construction will begin in the fall of 2024 and take approximately three years to complete.Parks, trails, greenspace and buffers account for approximately 25 per cent of the site while utilities, roads, and rights-of-way account for 16 per cent of the site, said Marios.

He noted the proposed residential zoning for the plan area is:

• comprehensive residential single family – 14 per cent;

• cottage cluster homes – 13 per cent;

• comprehensive residential multiple family – 27 per cent; and

• residential multiple housing – five per cent.

Marios said the plan was informed by other plans and studies, including a traffic impact analysis.

The traffic analysis modelled traffic impacts at the 2032 and 2042 horizon years, he said.

Marios said recommendations include new intersection configurations for Mountainview Drive/Range Road and Whistle Bend Way/Range Road intersections by 2032 and to make minor adjustments to traffic signal timing by 2042.

In a joint news release issued Monday by the Yukon government and Kwanlin Dun, the two property owners said the master plan will be sent to the city for consideration this summer.

It will then be forwarded to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board for review.

“As Whitehorse grows, so does our need for housing,” Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn said in the release.

“We are very pleased that our partnership with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation has resulted in a finalized master plan for the Range Point area.

“Creating more housing lots is important for both our governments and we look forward to further collaboration as the project advances.”

New Kwanlin Dun Chief Sean Smith said in the release the Range Point development will be a major economic development project for Kwanlin Dun.

”As more than 75 per cent of the project is located on settlement land, the site will generate revenue and be a source of financial sustainability for our First Nation,” Smith said.

‘It is also a tangible example of governments partnering to benefit all Yukoners.”

The release notes Kwanlin Dun completed its Community Lands Plan in 2019. It confirmed its citizens’ direction to explore development of Range Point, specifically through residential leases.

After the plan is sent to the city for potential endorsement, Kwanlin Dun and the Yukon government will proceed with applications for zoning amendments, subdivision approval and development agreements with the city followed by detailed engineering design.

The city planner said initial engagement on the plan was undertaken as part of the 2014 Range Road North Neighbourhood Plan.

“To inform the current proposed plan, the project team undertook targeted engagement sessions with KDFN citizens, Range Road residents and various stakeholders (including Yukon University) in May and November of 2021. Two ‘What We Heard’ reports were prepared,” said Marios.

At the May 2021 engagement, he said, it was noted the respondents generally preferred single-family units and supported trails, and there was strong support for a buffer between the site and the Northland Mobile Park.

There was, Marios said, mixed support for commercial development, with concerns about traffic, the poor condition of Range Road and the loss of greenspace.

An area of the road near the planned development was recently resurfaced.